Just when you thought it was safe to talk politics again…

For a while there, it seemed as if the cultural battles that framed much of politics in the recent past wouldn’t play a big role in the contest between John McCain and Barack Obama. But McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate has changed all that, say Jim Vandehei and David Paul Kuhn at politico.com.

The selection of Palin – a new heroine of social conservatives – has helped reignite not only abortion but also other flash-point issues in a way few of McCain’s other vice presidential options would have done.